Lost And Found
by Feilyn
Summary: Hitsugaya Toshiro is looking for someone. A soul. Everyone except Toshiro himself can see how badly the search is affecting him, But Toshiro is adamant. He made a promise, and he's already broken it once. He'll be damned if it happens again.
1. Lost

_Second Bleach fic although I actually started writing this before the other…never mind. I love Bleach, to the point where I may actually start buying the manga. Now, this is a big deal for me because I live in New Zealand and manga is about 20NZD a pop here and I don't have a job. Lol._

_Anyway, my writing style for anime/manga fics is slightly different from my English-based fics. I understand the basics of the Japanese suffixes enough to get through, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. _

xXx

Slowly, Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō of the tenth protection squad clenched his fist. He would have clenched his teeth as well, except that he was already doing that.

"Taichō" Matsumoto Rangiku, his vice-captain, was standing directly behind him. He could hear the worry in his voice and it just made him more frustrated. "Give up. Please."

"Matsumoto—"

"Taichō" There was an almost shrill edge to his vice-captain's voice that he'd seldom heard before. Slowly, he turned to face her, eyes wide with surprise. "She – isn't – _here_. Now are you going to come with me willingly, or am I going to have to drag you?"

There was no way Matsumoto would be able to drag him _anywhere_, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try. Tōshirō nodded sharply, unclenching his fists and teeth and sweeping past his subordinate. "Back to the Seireitei then?"

In an instant, Matsumoto was all smiles. "Not yet, taichō I still have shopping to do!" she sang. "I promised Shunsui that I'd bring back another swimsuit for Nanao-chan, seeing as she fed the last one to a Hollow, and I was thinking that Rukia's wardrobe needs a little sprucing up and then Kurosaki-kun will owe me a favour!" She squealed.

Tōshirō sighed, letting his vice-captain's voice wash over him as they walked away from the soccer field.

"Since when were you on first name terms with Kyoraku-san?"

"Ah, the many wonders of sake…"

xXx

"Ah, Shirō-chan, you're back," Captain Ukitake remarked softly. His voice was soft, holding none of the good cheer it usually did when he addressed Tōshirō by that deplorable nickname.

"Hitsugaya-taichō," the Captain of the Tenth Division snapped automatically. "And yes, I am back. Obviously." He started to walk away, then stopped, turning back to take in the other Captain's tired form. In a softer voice, he asked, "Ukitake-taichō? You haven't had another attack?"

"Eh? Oh, no, Shirō-chan, nothing like that. I'm just – worried, is all."

Tōshirō nodded. Ukitake's recently promoted vice-captain, Kuchiki Rukia, was Kurosaki Ichigo's lover and shinigami from all over the Seireitei had been making snide comments for weeks. Kurosaki and Ukitake had been good friends for years, since before the war had ended fourteen years ago, and certain bitter soul reapers had automatically linked that friendship with Kurosaki's relationship and drawn entirely the wrong conclusion. Ukitake had been defending his decision ever since he'd announced it.

"If any of the troublemakers are from Tenth Division, Ukitake-taichō, feel free to notify me and I shall issue reprimands accordingly." _When I have time, _he added mentally.

"Only when you have time, Shirō-chan. I wouldn't want to add undue stress to you. The gossipmongers are quiet, for the time being. Rukia made examples of a few seated officers yesterday, and I'd imagine they're all still feeling the pain. Unohana-taichō also refused them treatment, on the grounds that Fourth Division is overrun."

"But Fourth Division—"

"Is almost empty, yes." Ukitake smiled, but the worry etched in his stance didn't dissipate. "And everyone knows it, so it's rather obvious that Unohana-taichō backs my decision. No, I am worrying about somewhat else."

Tōshirō felt rather uncomfortably that Ukitake was gazing directly into his head. "Most likely you are worrying about things not your concern, Ukitake-taichō," he said quietly, beating a quick retreat.

A sigh. "Most likely, Hitsugaya-taichō."

It was only after Tōshirō was back in his office that he realised what Ukitake had called him.

xXx

"Who are you searching for, Hitsugaya-kun?" Hinamori asked softly.

Tōshirō paused, midway through a report that Matsumoto should have been completing. Then he continued, not saying anything.

"Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Hitsugaya-_taichō_," he snapped, emphasizing the title.

Silence fell.

"I owe Kurosaki Ichigo a favour," he said finally, when the silence between him and his old friend became unbearable.

It was true, he did, but Kurosaki didn't care. He wasn't one to call in old debts, which was odd for a shinigami, especially one of his level. Yes, he owed the other prodigy, but that wasn't the reason he was searching. An older, stronger promise held him to his purpose.

"So…Kurosaki-san asked you to look for someone? In the real world?"

"Something like that."

"Oh." Hinamori mulled that over. "Are you looking for a living human, or a soul?"

Tōshirō signed his name at the end of the report and stared at it. "A soul."

xXx

"Oi! Tōshirō!"

Said silver-haired captain twitched. There was only one person who called his name – given name! – in such an obnoxious tone.

Tōshirō turned around, icy death glare fixed firmly in place as Kurosaki Ichigo skidded to a stop. The shinigami representative merely rolled his eyes, one of which was ringed in purple, and sighed.

"Whatever domestic problems you and Kuchiki Rukia are having are nothing to do with me, Kurosaki," Tōshirō drawled.

The man with the orange hair blinked. "Eh? Oh, this!" He gestured at the black eye. "Nah, Hinamori Momo did this, not Rukia. Rukia usually aims lower." He laughed.

Tōshirō frowned. "Hinamori Momo – this high—" He gestured at a level slightly below his own head, thankful that in recent years he'd grown enough that he didn't have to reach to emphasize his point. "Managed to give you, the man who defeated Aizen and didn't even have to _die_ to do it, a black eye."

Kurosaki laughed again, a little sheepishly this time as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well, like you said, she's tiny. Didn't look like she could do much damage. And I wasn't exactly expecting her to come flying out of nowhere on my first day back in the Seireitei . Before I even _saw_ Rukia."

"What exactly does this have to do with me, Kurosaki," Tōshirō snapped, impatient.

Kurosaki held up his hands in what Tōshirō thought was a slightly condescending manner. "Whoa, Tōshirō, calm down. I just thought you might know something about it, seeing as she came at me screaming about you and debts and lost souls."

Tōshirō stiffened. "Hinamori was a childhood companion. It's been decades and she still hasn't got out of the habit of thinking she has to look after me.

"Maybe 'cos you still need looking after." Kurosaki easily dodged the Tenth Division Captain's kick to his chest. "Nah, Tōshirō, I don't mind you using me as an excuse, but next time warn me, yeah?" He gingerly prodded at his black eye and winced.

Suddenly Tōshirō felt a lot less sure of himself. "I – you _knew?_"

A sombre air settled over the two as a familiar scowl etched itself on the substitute's face. Kurosaki looked off into the distance. "Yeah. I know you think you owe me something for saving your arse all those years ago. You don't, but if it makes you happy holding onto it like you are, go ahead. 'Cos that's what friends do, right?" Their eyes met, and Tōshirō rather uncomfortably felt that the representative was looking at him and seeing far too much. "They look out for each other. They let them be happy." Kurosaki took a deep breath. "Which is why I gotta say this. Stop looking for her."

Tōshirō felt like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. "Wh-what?"

"Just stop, alright? Look, you have no idea how grateful I am that you're doing this. And yeah, I _know_ you're not doing it for me, so wipe that look off your face. Still, of all the people I'd want out there looking for her, it's you. But seriously, you gotta stop! It's been four years and—"

"And you're feeling guilty."

It was Kurosaki's turn to look surprised. "Eh?"

"You're feeling guilty, because it's only been four years since she died and you stopped looking two years ago," Tōshirō remarked calmly. He understood where Kurosaki was coming from now. He was back in control. "You lost hope, and I'm still going so you're feeling bad about yourself."

The representative's face became curiously blank, and it took Tōshirō a few seconds to realise he'd just made Kurosaki _very_ angry. His reiatsu (as uncontrolled as ever) spiked dangerously even though there was no obvious sign of it on his face.

"Yeah. I gave up. You know why? Because I decided that the found were more important than the lost. I can't know if a Hollow got her, or if she's still in the real world or even if she's wandering around the Rukongai. But I can know when my friends need me, when the Seireitei needs me. When _Rukia_ needs me. I can't sit around hoping to get permission to go out and look, but I can say sorry if she does show up after all."

Tōshirō was silent for a long time. "You…you have all of those people to look out for, people you promised to protect. Me…" He snorted derisively. "The last time I made a promise to protect someone, she died. And I still can't find her."

Kurosaki shrugged. "You think that there's no one else out there who cares, Tōshirō? Then maybe you do deserve to be alone. If you can't see Ran-chan tearing herself apart, if you can't see Jūshirō exhausting himself with worry, if you can't see _this—_" He gestured at his black eye. "_This_, that Hinamori Momo gave me, because she was so worried about you. So worried that she didn't even hesitate to take on – how did you put it? – 'the man who defeated Aizen and didn't even have to die to do it'." Kurosaki shook his head. "If you can't see that, the entire Seireitei could hail you a genius and I'd still say you're stupid."

"Ichi…_Ichigo!_" A sudden shout split the air and Kurosaki stumbled back as a small black blur ploughed into him.

Tōshirō had somehow managed to keep his eyes on the representative's face as this happened, and he was astonished to see the change that came over him. The blankness totally disappeared, and there wasn't a hint of a scowl in the look that replaced it. Kurosaki laughed, lifting Kuchiki Rukia into the air slightly and spinning her around. She laughed with him, playfully hitting him on the shoulder as he set her down before leaning up on her toes to demand a kiss. Kurosaki happily paid up.

This…this was what Kurosaki had meant. _I decided that the found were more important than the lost. _

Tōshirō was gone before the two lovers broke up.

He had some apologies to make.

xXx

_Hmm…I was going to make this a one-shot, but I think it'll be a two-shot. You can probably guess who it is Tōshirō's looking for, but I want to proceed as if you don't, 'kay? Lol. Hope you liked, please review!_


	2. Forgiven

_Lol, I've changed my mind again. It's going to be a three part story, m'kay? Because I don't think I can fit everything that needs to be said into one more smooth chapter._

xXx

"Oi, Matsumoto," Tōshirō called, somewhat hesitantly, as he walked into the Tenth Division Office.

He saw her form stiffen for a split second before she finished the sentence she was writing and looked up at him with an overly happy smile slapped across her face.

"Another trip, taichō? I'll be ready in a few minutes; I just need to finish this report."

Tōshirō felt mildly ill. Matsumoto was doing paperwork. Willingly doing paperwork. Putting off, if only for a few minutes, a trip to the real world. To do paperwork.

It went against the laws of nature.

"Put it down," he snapped.

"T-Taichō?"

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Why are you doing the paperwork?"

The busty blonde blinked. "It's my job."

"Right." _Since when was that ever a factor? _"Matsumoto, when was the last time you went out and got drunk?"

She caught on. Her eyes softened and she set the brush carefully to one side. "About four years, taichō."

Tōshirō swallowed, almost backing out. The look on her face said she already understood what he was trying to get to, and wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't have the guts to do it. But Matsumoto was his vice-captain, his second-in-command. He didn't only trust her with his life (or death), he trusted her with his Division. A trust that had been called upon far too many times over the previous four years.

"I – I'm sorry, Matsumoto," he said quietly.

The resulting squeal nearly brought the Tenth Division crashing down around their ears. His vice-captain quite literally vaulted over the top of her desk, sending paperwork and ink flying left, right and centre in her eagerness to deliver one of her personalized bear hugs. A few seconds later, the desk itself keeled over.

"Tai-_chō!_"

Matsumoto was quite possibly the only person Tōshirō knew who could give a bear hug without arms. Thankfully, he was now tall enough that he wasn't drowning in her assets, and with that distraction gone, he'd realised that being hugged by Matsumoto wasn't really all that unpleasant. Tōshirō wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he'd rather missed them.

He rather thought his vice-captain already knew.

"Matsumoto—"

"Oi, taichō. You know, Shunsui calls Nanao-chan by her given name, and I haven't Ukitake-taichō call Rukia-chan Kuchiki-san in years…"

It wasn't hard to see what his vice-captain was getting at, but Tōshirō was rather hesitant to follow up on it. Of course, it would have been simplicity itself to point out that Kyōraku and Ise were lovers and Captain Ukitake delighted in ignoring formalities, especially when it came to names, but Tōshirō was hesitant to deny his…dare he say it, _friend_, this request when he'd been so out of it for the previous four years.

She stepped away from him completely and danced towards the door.

"Ah, taichō, I have to go tell Kurosaki-kun that our plan worked!" she winked. "Try cleaning up the paperwork for me?"

It took a few seconds for her words to soak in. "_RANGIKU!_"

Okay, so it wasn't as satisfying to shout as Matsumoto, but maybe that would mean he wouldn't have to do it quite so often.

Tōshirō gazed around the half destroyed office in despair.

"Wishful thinking."

xXx

"Hitsugaya-taichō!" Kotetsu Kiyone, third seat of the Thirteenth Division, rushed to greet him. "Are you here to see Ukitake-taichō?"

Tōshirō grunted an affirmative, nodding his head a little. Being around the younger Kotetsu sister had always been a little uncomfortable. Before the war her enthusiasm had been nigh unbearable – he truly had no idea where Ukitake had garnered the patience to put up with both her _and_ her then co-third seat, Kotsubaki Sentarō. Now Sentarō was dead and Kotetsu was the _only_ third seat, her enthusiasm was as high as ever, except incredibly, obviously strained.

"I'm sorry, he's actually busy at the moment," Kotetsu prattled. "Kuchiki-taichō came for a visit, but I did hear him say he wouldn't take up too much of Ukitake-taichō's time…can you wait, Hitsugaya-taichō? I can just pop in and say—"

"No, it's fine," Tōshirō said shortly, cutting her off. She looked rather crestfallen, but it wasn't the same broken-hearted look he remembered receiving four years before. He softened his voice. "I'm sorry. I'll wait out here with you, if that's all right?"

"Oh, it's fine!" In an instant Kotetsu was all smiles again. She offered him a chair and then returned to her desk, where a mountain of paperwork towered precariously over her head. She happily grabbed the topmost sheet, picked up her brush and started to write, chatting at him as she did so.

"I don't have to do so much paperwork anymore, now that Rukia-san is fukutaichō. I miss it sometimes, actually. Well, that is until Kurosaki Ichigo shows up and Ukitake-taichō gives Rukia-san the day off and I have to do her work and mine. But I don't mind, it's nice to see people happy, you know, taichō?" She signed her name at the bottom of the sheet and grabbed the next one. "And also, doing this reminds me of Sentarō."

Tōshirō started. For some reason, he hadn't expected her to even say the name. Well, really, he hadn't even entertained the thought she'd bring him up. Hitsugaya Tōshirō wasn't exactly the kind of person people opened up to.

"He was a good friend, Sentarō. The best, really, although neither of us would _ever_ have admitted it." The girl giggled. "Oh, I feel so bad now when I think about the kind of things we pulled…always trying to be 'the better third seat'. I really just wanted to live up to Kaien-dono, you know? And so did Sentarō, and we both wanted it so bad that it came out all wrong." She laughed again. "You know, Hitsugaya-taichō, we would have been halfway through this paperwork by now, and then Ukitake-taichō would have secretly done it all over again, because it would have been illegible."

Kotetsu looked up him, and suddenly seemed to realise exactly who she'd been talking to. She gasped, hands flying to her mouth.

"Oh, Hitsugaya-taichō, I'm sorry! So, so sorry! I know you're a very busy man and you probably have a million other things to think about and listening to me dribble on isn't at the top of that list butbutbut—"

"Kotetsu-san," he said softly. _Have I really been that abrasive? No, abrasive's too mild a word for it. I've been a down-right arsehole. _"I…do not mind listening to you speak." And in truth, he didn't. It was nice to know that some wounds did fade with time.

The third seat had been halfway through a bow when he interrupted her. She cracked open one eye, saw that he hadn't turned into a fiery hell monster and flopped back into her chair. "Oh."

They sat in silence at she reached for another sheet. He watched her frown at it, rotate it clockwise and attempt to read it that way, cross her eyes at it and then start the cycle all over again before he stopped her.

"Is there a problem, Kotetsu-san?"

"Hmm? Oh! Oh, no, not really taichō. I…I just can't quite remember what this form is for." She sighed. "I forget it so often you'd think I'd remember because of that, but no such luck. I'll just have to wait until Rukia-san comes back tomorrow"

"What form is it?" It had been a while since he'd done paperwork, but after spending so much time painstakingly remembering every single possible form that could come his way, Tōshirō wasn't about to forget what each code meant.

"Uh…" She flipped it around until it was facing the right way up. "Form five-one-three. Wait, no! Five-one-three-bee. It's always the 'bee' that gets me."

Ah. Tōshirō knew _that_ particular form all too well. "Form five-one-three is the sake budget for each Division. Form five-one-three-bee is the amount of money Kyōraku-taichō owes each Division for using their sake budget."

Kotetsu's eyes went round. "Thank you, Hitsugaya-taichō!" She bent over the paper, muttering under her breath as she did so. "No wonder we get so many of these."

The fusuma slid open and Kuchiki Byakuya strode out, followed by a softly smiling Ukitake.

"You could just tell her, Byakuya-kun."

Tōshirō just happened to be watching the Sixth Division Captain's face as Ukitake said that, and he could well understand the faint twitch that passed over the noble's face.

"I will not," Kuchiki said succinctly. "It would be all over the Seireitei before the words left my mouth."

"I think she might surprise you, Bya-kun. For a start, don't you think she already knows?"

Kuchiki's eyes widened infinitesimally, and he swept out of the office without a further word.

Ukitake turned to Kotetsu. "Ah, Kiyone-chan! I see you're not having trouble with the five-one-three-bee?" He blinked. "That really is a mouthful."

Tōshirō noted the way Kotetsu lit up as soon as her Captain entered the room. "No, taichō! Hitsugaya-taichō here helped me remember. He's here to…um…" She frowned slightly, turning to Tōshirō. "I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-taichō, why were you here again?"

Tōshirō stood. "If you don't mind, Ukitake-taichō, I'd like to have a word with you."

"Of course, Shirō-chan! In private?"

He swallowed. "Uh – no, no it's fine. I just wanted to say…" Once again he hesitated, cursing himself for not being able to get the words out of his mouth. Was he really that proud, that arrogant, that he couldn't make a simple apology?

Well, perhaps not so simple. How _did_ you say sorry to someone you'd caused four years of grief? It wasn't like saying it to Matsu – no, it was Rangiku now. Because Rangiku was his vice-captain, and understood him even more so than Momo.

_Just spit it out._

"I'msorry." He winced as the two words came out like one. "I mean – I'm sorry. For taking you for granted, for making you so worried." He held out a small white bag of what he knew was the other Captain's favourite candy, blushing madly. "Here." Kotetsu's eyes bulged slightly.

Ukitake took the bag and peeked inside. "So you have been paying attention all these years," he remarked quietly. "No apology is needed, Hitsu—"

Tōshirō held up a hand. "It's Tōshirō."

Ukitake stared at him for a long time. "Ah, Tōshirō. Then you must call me Jūshirō."

"Ah. Jūshirō."

The sound of Kotetsu fainting echoed throughout the office. Ukitake looked over at her.

"Oh dear."

xXx

Now came the part Tōshirō most dreaded.

Hinamori Momo, Acting-Captain of the Fifth Division.

He wasn't entirely sure why she was still only Acting-Captain. He knew she'd achieved bankai sometime during the previous four years, and she'd been running the Fifth Division ever since Aizen had been killed and the hypnosis he'd placed on her had been lifted.

Maybe he could ask her. That was, if she didn't kill him for lying to her.

He tapped politely on the office fusuma.

"_You!_"

"Hinamori?" he exclaimed, jumping slightly in surprise. The voice was…coming from behind him?

Tōshirō turned, and there she was. Her hair had been taken out of its meticulous bun and scraped back into a high-ponytail. She was red-faced, and had quite obviously just come back from the training-grounds.

"_You!_" she repeated. "I can't believe you! You lied to me!"

"It wasn't a lie," he protested. "More of an…omission."

"You purposefully lead me to believe that Kurosaki-kun has been ruining your life for the last four years! In my book that counts as lying."

The small part of Tōshirō's brain that meticulously recorded everything noted that Kurosaki had gone from a 'san' suffix to the more familiar 'kun' in only a day. The rest of him was warily eying her spiking reiatsu.

"It wasn't _that_—"

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō. I punched him in the face! Then I screamed gibberish at him for half an hour, because of you. _For_ you! When you – Shirō, he gave up two years ago. He told me what happened and how he struggled with himself and then just had to _stop_ and you, you're still wasting all this time and energy when you don't think she can really be found!" Hinamori was in a rage now, gripping the front of his haori in her two small fists. "Look me in the eye, Tōshirō. Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to find her." She shook him. "_Tell _me."

"I have to say, Bed-Wetter Momo, you're timing hasn't improved much," Tōshirō said softly. "Someone else already got there first."

"Wh-what?" The rage faded from her eyes and her reiatsu calmed.

"Kurosaki took a piece out of me this morning," the white haired Captain continued. "I'm ashamed to say that it took the world's least subtle man to pound some sense into me."

"He hit you?"

Tōshirō snorted. "Don't sound so eager. No, he didn't hit me. But it felt like he did."

"So…so he said something to you then? Was it cruel? Because if it was cruel I'll tell Rukia-chan and—"

"Oi! Stop changing around so much – first you come after me with death in your eyes and now you're telling me you're going to get Kurosaki if he hurt me?"

Momo sniffed. "I'm the only one who's allowed to say mean things to you, Shirō. Well, maybe Ran-chan as well."

Tōshirō shook his head. "Some friend."

She huffed at him. "Oh, so we're friends now, are we? Because I've been under the impression that for the last four years you haven't resembled anything _like_ a friend."

He winced. "Momo, I'm sorry—"

She beamed. "Okay!"

"Eh?"

"That's all I wanted." She sidled around him and slid open the fusuma. He spun to follow her.

"But – but the speech! And the reiatsu and—"

"Oh, Ran-chan already told me what happened. I just wanted to see if you would actually go through with it. Especially after I went crazy at you." She flicked him another grin before reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Don't worry, Shirō-chan. You passed."

"It was a _test?_"

"Yep! Now, go and find Ran-chan before she strangles Byakuya-taichō, okay?" The fusuma slid shut.

"I – what? Rangiku – _Byakuya?_ Bed-Wetter Hinamori, what are talking about?" he yelled at the fusuma.

It didn't reply, and neither did Momo.

xXx

_Okay, so that's chapter two! I hope you all enjoyed it, please review, and the next chapter should be up in a week or so, m'kay?_


	3. Dead

_Okay, I've totally changed my mind. I have no idea how many chapters this is going to me. Definitely no more than seven, but this isn't the last one. I keep getting ideas! I'm also going to do a whole lot of other fics based in this world. Rukia/Ichigo, for one, and there are two others I've got in mind…maybe three. I'm not sure yet._

xXx

It was easier than Tōshirō had thought, getting her out of his mind. Oh, he still had periods of black depression where he berated himself for giving up, considered regressing and generally became an arse to be around, but Kurosaki had been right. There _were_ people who cared about him, people who knew when to leave him alone to brood and when to snap him out of it. Before he knew it, another four years had passed.

Rangiku happily divided her time between getting drunk, killing Hollows and chasing Kuchiki Byakuya around the Seireitei. She even caught him a few times, although it was worth a person's life to suggest he'd been running away. However, on one climactic Sunday she finally got so fed up with the game that she'd quite literally pinned him to the ground, ripped the _kenseikan_ out of his hair and then demanded that he choose either her or it.

She moved out of the Tenth Division barracks and into the Kuchiki Manor that same day.

Tōshirō had been spending increasing amounts of time with Jūshirō, desperate to get away from his vice-captain's pouting. He would have stayed if hadn't known that it was utterly contrived to make him feel sorry for her and lighten her load. Then after she moved, he'd had to escape from Captain Kuchiki's insistence that she do less paperwork. Somehow, Tōshirō didn't think the noble would believe him if he told him the truth – Rangiku generally did no paperwork at all.

Tōshirō enjoyed his time with Jūshirō. If the older Captain was well enough, they'd go for a walk and then sit outside (in the summer; while Tōshirō had no problem with the winter season, Jūshirō's health wasn't really up to sitting in snow) doing their paperwork. Tōshirō inevitably had more than his friend, but the other Captain evened the odds by sorting through the piles of paper and seperating them into 'Urgent', 'Give it a month or so' and 'Not going to be looked at anyway'. Tōshirō was horrified to see that form five-one-three-bee went into the latter category.

Both Captain's possessed the ability to converse and work at the same time, so they talked of anything from their days at the Academy to the war and the consequences of it. One day, after talking quite candidly about his illness and mentioning how his hair had turned white three days after it had surfaced, Jūshirō gently turned the subject towards fallen comrades.

"Eighteen years and there's still no replacement for Komamura. You know, Yamamoto-sōtaichō has been in negotiations with Ichigo-kun. He wants him to take over Seventh Division." Ukitake sighed. "Iba-fukutaichō is trying his hardest, but he's just not on the same level as the other Acting-taichō's. Even Kira-kun is on the verge of achieving bankai."

"Kurosaki? As a _taichō?_" Tōshirō paused and thought about it. "Actually, it's not such a bad idea. He more than qualifies in terms of power and he knows how to get along with people."

"He just doesn't choose to employ such talent?""

"That's it." Tōshirō signed his name on a five-one-three and tossed the five-one-three-bee lying underneath it over his shoulder. "But wasn't Madarame-taichō going to help Iba with his bankai?"

"Ikkaku-taichō is overrun. Half of his Division _still_ doesn't think he can live up to Zaraki – and honestly, who could?"

"Who would want to?" Tōshirō muttered under his breath. The man had been insane.

Jūshirō ignored that. "And the other half is constantly trying to murder the first half for saying such things. It's all Ikkaku-taichō can do to keep them from killing each other – keeping them separated is just too much to ask. He never wanted to be taichō in the first place."

"No." Tōshirō cracked a grin. "But did you hear Ayasegawa when Madarame bullied him into fukutaichō?"

"Ah. 'But two is such a horrifically ugly number! I finally get a chance to be third seat and you're trying to take that away from me?'" Jūshirō shook his head. "I don't think he actually meant it like he used to, though. He never replaced those feathers of his."

No. Ayasegawa's eye decorations had been cremated with Kusajishi Yachiru's small body eighteen years before. Well, both her and Zaraki Kenpachi – Kurosaki had insisted they stay together, and he had the entire Eleventh Division backing him at the time. Tōshirō could understand where Kurosaki had been coming from. Zaraki and Kusajishi had gone down fighting, together. He remembered seeing it – Zaraki being overwhelmed first and then Kusajishi, both of them laughing to the end.

"He lied to him, you know," Tōshirō said quietly. "Kurosaki. Zaraki asked him…'How's Yachiru? How's my girl?' And Kurosaki lied." He shook his head at that. "I remembered being disgusted at first – lying to a dying man, how despicable. But because of Kurosaki Ichigo, Zaraki died happy."

"There's a lot we shinigami can learn from that man," Jūshirō replied quietly.

"Even you?"

"You don't think he hasn't opened my eyes a little? Byakuya wasn't the only one holding Rukia-chan back. All that talk of pride, and I never let her have her own until he showed up. I guess I was afraid of having another Shiba Kaien on my hands."

It was hard to imagine a man who hadn't even lived a half-century teaching something to the two thousand year old Jūshirō. Even though his friend hid it well, sometimes Tōshirō was overwhelmed at the sheer _magnitude_ of knowledge Jūshirō had collected over the years. He'd been there at the beginning of the Thirteen Protection squads, one of the first students to graduate the Academy, the Captain-Commander's own student.

Jūshirō's slight cough in his fist became a full blown fit. Tōshirō shifted forwards slightly, trying to see if the hand had come away bloody – Jūshirō was liable to hide it, sometimes – but Kiyone was already there.

Over the years Kiyone had become an acquaintance – friend, even. Enough so that he called her by her first name and considering only three other people had that honour, it was quite a big deal. He also insisted that either she left the taichō off his surname or at least pair the title with his given name. He would have let her call him Tōshirō, if not for the fact that he knew she'd be too embarrassed to accept.

"Kiyone – Kiyone-chan, stop fussing. I am fine, truly. See?" Jūshirō he'd out his hand. "No blood."

Tōshirō noted very carefully that he had held out his _other_ hand. Kiyone, fussing as she was, didn't notice.

No, she probably did notice, but she knew him well enough to let him have his pride. It was bittersweet, watching them dance around each other like they did.

"Taichō! Tōshirō-taichō!"

That was—

"Rangiku?"

He blinked, and she had flash-stepped to his side.

"Ran-chan!" Jūshirō exclaimed, obviously thankful for the distraction. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo," she panted.

Tōshirō blinked again. "Eh?"

"He's in the Seireitei."

"So?" There was nothing odd about that, although Tōshirō was sure the representative wasn't due back for another month.

She shook her head, hair moving in waves as she did so. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, Ran-chan?" asked Jūshirō, perplexed.

"He's dead!"

xXx

_Mwahaha! Evil cliffy!_


	4. Surprise

_Omg, I just watched Memories of Nobody!_ _So sad…but I always knew Ichigo would be the type of person to lie so someone could die happy. See? I put that in the last chapter, before I even watched the movie!_

_How's that for intuition, eh? Lol, it's amazing how happy being right can make me._

_Also, in case of reviews, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. Actually that's not quite accurate – I don't mind concrit, but calling me a loser isn't concrit._

**Spoilers about Kurosaki Isshin. If you don't know what he was before being Ichigo's father, don't read this.**

_I thought THIS would be the last chapter, but it's still not! I don't know what's happening! It's gone from a one-shot to…oh, my poor fingers…_

xXx

"He's _what?_" Tōshirō exclaimed, scrambling to his feet in a most un-Captain-like way.

"I know! I had a hard time believing it at first – I mean, the Deathberry, taken out in a car crash. It goes against all logic." Rangiku grinned. "But, damn, he doesn't get any quieter dead. He's swearing up a storm near the west gate."

Jūshirō had gone, if possible, even paler. "He – he is alright, yes?" He coughed slightly, and Kiyone fussed again. He waved her away.

"Oh, he's fine. Sister's with him, trying to get him to calm down. Ah—" She blushed, suddenly realising how that could be misconstrued. "Yuzu," she elaborated. "Sorry, taichō. Anyway, is Rukia-chan here? Someone needs to get Ichigo under control, and she's the best one to do it. I swear his Hollow mask was forming when I left – I'm joking, taichō! Don't look so worried."

"Don't joke about things like that," Tōshirō grumbled. Things tended to explode when Kurosaki donned his Hollow mask. However, now that he thought about it, he could definitely feel the pressure of a Kurosaki-flavoured reiatsu to the west. "Yuzu-san died as well?"

"Mm. She was in the car with Ichigo-kun, from what I could gather. I swear, that man's worse than Ikkaku when he gets riled up. He was picking her up from the airport – apparently she just came back from America – and they got hit by a drunk driver to the side. Um…so Rukia-chan?

"Rukia-chan is currently visiting Abarai Renji's grave," Ukitake said softly. "It's the anniversary of his death today, I believe."

Rangiku's face tightened slightly. "Ah. Me and Byakuya were going to visit later tonight. Do you think—"

Kuchiki Rukia flash-stepped into the garden and then disappeared again, heading west. The echo of her own swearing hung in the air.

Rangiku started to laugh. "Well then! I guess that problem's solved. Shunsui's gone to get Yamamoto-sōtaichō, and I'm off to the Rukongai. Apparently Ichigo-kun's reiatsu causes all kinds of chaos when he gets that angry."

"What do you mean?" Tōshirō asked, frowning.

"Oh, there's some echo or something kicking up in district eighty. I think our Deathberry just drew out another Zaraki, and lord knows we don't need _that_ kind of power running around unchecked." She flash-stepped away.

"There's no way she could take on someone of Zaraki Kenpachi's level," Jūshirō protested.

Tōshirō laughed shortly. "She's not planning on fighting. She'll give him as much free sake as he can handle then knock him over the head and carry him to the Academy."

"What if it's a girl?" Kiyone asked.

"It's never a girl when it comes to district eighty, Kiyone-san." Tōshirō held out a hand to Jūshirō, who ignored it and stood up by himself. "Do we go west then, Jūshirō?"

"Yes. We go west."

xXx

The sight that greeted them upon arriving wasn't exactly what Rangiku had led them to expect. Yes, the air was filled with profanities, but they were coming from the mouth of Kuchiki Rukia, who had Kurosaki pinned to the ground with her foot. Tōshirō glanced sideways at Jūshirō and saw him wearing an odd look of both consternation and amusement. Tōshirō had to admit that he'd see the foot-to-the-face thing often enough, but the swearing was new. Apparently, it didn't pay to get yourself killed when you were a Kuchiki's lover.

Kurosaki _was_ leaking a lot of reiatsu, but this was nothing unusual. What was strange was the other two Kurosaki flavoured reiatsu's.

"Isshin!" Jūshirō exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Kurosaki Isshin, formerly Tenth Division Captain Isshin. Rangiku had served under him before he resigned from duty in protest at the way the Urahara case was handled. As a result, Tōshirō knew more about the older Kurosaki male than he really needed too.

"Ah, Jūshirō!" Isshin grinned, saluting. "Eh, someone had to open the gate for my idiot son here. He still hasn't learned, you know?"

"Despite his power, Isshin, he's still just a representative. There are some things a soul just can't do until it's dead."

"Hitsugaya-kun!" Yuzu exclaimed, shrugging her father's arm off her shoulder. "Hitsugaya-kun! Is there any news?"

Tōshirō blinked. "News?"

"About Karin-chan!"

The words had a strange effect on everyone in the general vicinity, Tōshirō noted absently as the majority of his brain went into shock. For a start, everyone shut up. Even Kuchiki stopped swearing at her lover in favour of staring at Tōshirō. In fact, all of the assembled shinigami were looking at him nervously.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of it. So what if he hadn't heard the name in eight years? "No, Yuzu-san. No news."

"Oh." The woman looked crestfallen. Then she perked up. "But I'm dead too, right? So I can go and look for her now!"

"Yuzu…it's been eight years," Kuchiki said hesitantly. "If two taichō-class shinigami couldn't—"

The blonde shook her head obstinately. "I know that! Rukia-nee, I've waited eight years to die so I could look for my sister, and now you're saying I can't?"

Silence fell once again. Most of the shinigami present seemed to realise that this was a private matter and disappeared. Jūshirō hesitated, then followed, and in the sudden space that had cleared, Tōshirō could see Momo. He frowned.

"Karin-chan would have been brave," Yuzu whispered. "She wouldn't have waited, I know. She would have come to try and find me straight away. But I was too scared and now…now you mean she's gone? You mean I can't find her?" The air crackled, and reiatsu sparked in the woman's palm.

Tōshirō twitched. _Momo used to do that when she was angry…and it happens to Ise-san when she takes off her glasses. _Of course, he'd only ever seen Ise take her glasses off once, but it wasn't the kind of thing a person was likely to forget, even when it wasn't directed at them.

Kurosaki Isshin was staring helplessly at his daughter, obviously unsure of what exactly he was meant to do when faced with the information that his surviving daughter had been on the verge of suicide for eight years. Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia were looking equally astonished, Kuchiki having taken her foot of Kurosaki's chest and Kurosaki not even trying to stand up.

There was a Hell Butterfly sitting on Momo's finger. She had cocked her head to one side, and the slight frown she was wearing melted into a wide smile. She nodded, once, and the Hell Butterfly silently took wing.

"…Yuzu-san?"

Tōshirō blinked. He hadn't heard Momo use that tone of voice in over a decade – shy, quiet and unassuming. He'd heard Rangiku refer to it as her 'Aizen-voice' once or twice.

Yuzu's head jerked up. "Um…who are you?"

"Oh, how silly of me! I'm Hinamori Momo, Shirō-chan's friend." She shot Tōshirō a look that clearly promised death if he protested at the nickname. "Could you do…that…again?" She wriggled her fingers in a vaguely magical way.

Yuzu stared, then glanced down at her own fingers which were, for the moment, reiatsu free. "I'm sorry?"

Momo looked at her feet. Everyone else's eyes followed hers. "Oh...it must have been my imagination. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your grief, I mean, I know how hard it can be, you know, _dying_ and then—" The Acting Captain of the Fifth Division managed to summon up a fairly convincing blush as she backed away, nearly stumbling. "I'm so stupid! Yuzu-san, I'm sorry, I'll leave now."

It was then Tōshirō understood what Momo was going for. Kurosaki Yuzu was one of the single most selfless people he'd ever met. It appeared to run in the family, but where Kurosaki Ichigo promised to protect lives at the risk of his own, Yuzu had always looked after people. Tōshirō had seen it in the way she'd comforted her father and brother after Karin's death (and he was thinking the name now it had been said aloud. How odd), at the expense of her own grief. Of course, it wasn't the only instance, but it was the one that resonated most powerfully with Tōshirō. Somehow Momo must have picked up on that need to comfort, to make people feel better in Yuzu and now she was working it to her full advantage.

Apparently the other two Kurosaki's hadn't come to this conclusion yet, although it looked like Kuchiki was working her way through it.

"No, don't be sorry!" Yuzu blurted. "I'm being silly – I'm mean, what's eight years to however long I've got now?" She laughed, nervously running a hand through her hair. "I…what did you want me to do, Hinamori-chan?"

"Oh!" The other woman smiled brightly. "Call me Momo, please. Could you try doing this?" She clicked her fingers and a ball of reiatsu appeared. It looked simple enough, but to do it that fast without any kind of aid took years and years of practice or sheer dumb luck. As Momo was a kidō master, Tōshirō rather doubted it was the latter.

"H-how?" Yuzu asked, staring in awe at the physical manifestation of Momo's reiatsu.

"You're in the Seireitei now, Yuzu. Can you feel your reiatsu?"

"I think so? I don't know. What is reiatsu meant to feel like?"

Momo had switched over into teacher mode so subtly that Yuzu hadn't even noticed. Kurosaki's Isshin and Ichigo were gaping, as was Kuchiki. Tōshirō probably would have done the same, if it hadn't been so incredibly undignified for a Captain to maintain such an expression.

"You might call it the power of your soul. You've got quite a bit of it – not nearly as much as your brother, but we can't all be prodigies, can we?" She laughed. "You definitely have enough to enter the Academy."

"Academy?" Yuzu jerked her eyes away from Momo's ball of reiatsu. "What Academy?"

"Why, the Shinigami Academy of course!" The Acting Captain's hand relaxed and the reiatsu dissipated. "You go in, train for six years and when you come out you're a shinigami."

Yuzu shook her head, a mulish look crossing her face. "I can't go _anywhere_ for six whole years. I have to look for my sister!"

"What's six years to however long you have now?" Kuchiki said softly. Inwardly, Tōshirō berated himself – he'd been concentrating so hard on the dialogue between Momo and Yuzu, he hadn't even noticed Kuchiki approaching the pair. He was getting slack. "Plus, you won't be able to look for Karin-chan properly if you're not a shinigami. You wouldn't know where to begin."

Yuzu pouted, looking from Momo to Kuchiki back to Momo again. "You're ganging up on me. I don't even know you—" She nodded at Momo. "—and you're ganging up on me."

"Like I said. I'm Shiro-chan's friend." All traces of timidity were gone from her voice and she stood tall, like a Captain. Yuzu blinked.

"Yuzu-chan, you're a twenty-nine year old woman, and a Kurosaki at that. We couldn't gang up on you if we tried." Kuchiki winked. "You're too stubborn."

"You know, Ichigo, I think there was an insult in there somewhere, but I can't quite seem to find it," Isshin muttered to his son. Kurosaki nodded dumbly.

It was Yuzu's turn to look at her feet. "Six years?"

"Maybe five," Momo admitted. "Your reiatsu isn't particularly strong, but it's very specialised. With the right kind of training, you could probably grow to lead the Kidō Corps one day. Or, if you'd prefer not to fight, I'm sure the healing Division would gladly accept you."

"Oh." The blonde woman looked up. "Healing squad, you say? I…I think I'd like that."

"Well, then." Momo slung an arm easily around the female Kurosaki's shoulder as the tension almost visibly drained out of the area. "Come with me."


	5. Found

_Okay, I know I promised last chapter, but this chapter is really getting too long. I could cut some stuff out I suppose, but I'm also setting up several other fics that are going to tie into this story, and I'm not willing to forgo them. But I can honestly, truly, irrevocably promise that the next chapter will be the last. I'm sorry you've had to wait so long, but it is a long chapter and I went four days without internet and then my mum took my computer off me after the mother of all arguments and I only just got it back._

_Anyway, here we go, and thanks for being so patient!_

xXx

"Oi, Tōshirō" Kurosaki shouted, tearing his eyes away from the disappearing forms of his sister and Momo. "D'you know when Yami-jii's gonna show up?"

"No idea," Tōshirō replied shortly. "But I suggest that when he does show up, you don't refer to him as Yama-jii."

Kurosaki laughed, earning himself a swat over the head from Kuchiki. "Nah, he likes me. At least, I think he does. And if he doesn't like me, he at least needs me, so I guess I'm pretty safe."

He was, Tōshirō mused, probably right. Bastard.

Isshin frowned. "Yama-jii's coming here?"

"Ah." Kurosaki nodded. "He wants to badger me into becoming Seventh Division's taichō now that I'm dead. It'd be nice if you stay for moral support when I turn him down."

Isshin started to look vaguely nervous. "See, son, I would, but…I'm not exactly meant to be here in the Seireitei."

"Eh? You said you weren't exiled!"

"I wasn't. I wouldn't have been able to be come back if I had been, but Yama-jii let it be known that I'm really not welcome here. So, uh, good luck son, you need it, say hi to Shunsui for me and make fun of Byakuya's _kenseikan _at least once, okay? I'm off to visit Kukaku, see ya!" He started to run off.

"Oi! What? Byakuya doesn't wear the _kenseikan _anymore! And how do you know Kukaku?"

"We grew up together!" Isshin yelled back before flash-stepping away.

Kurosaki stared then shook his head. "Idiot. Damn, it's been a while since I could get away." The orange-haired shinigami grinned. "Although, dying wasn't exactly the way I'd imagined escaping the clinic. How's Ran-chan?"

Tōshirō shrugged. "Off in district eighty to check out the reiatsu you stirred up with your temper tantrum."

"That's not what I – wait, what?"

Kuchiki sighed. "Idiot. High reiatsu can bring out equally high reiatsu in its surroundings. It's called an echo. You've have one of the highest reiatsu's since…well, ever, really and you totally lost it before. You'd think that after all these years you'd have learnt some control." She grinned smugly.

Kurosaki glared. "Bitch."

"Asshole."

"Control freak."

"_Fatty_."

Kurosaki blinked. "Fatty? The hell, that doesn't even make any sense." He glanced down at himself. "You don't think I'm fat, do you?"

It occurred to Tōshirō that he really had no business, need or want to be standing there while the two lovers teased each other, so he started to walk away.

"Tōshirō, where're you going?" Kurosaki called after him.

"It doesn't concern you."

"Then it can't be that impor—ow! Oi, Rukia what the hell was that for?"

"Hitsugaya-taichō, I apologise on this idiot's behalf. Apparently dying gives him an inflated opinion of himself."

"I don't have an inflated opinion of myself, I just need at least one taichō on my side when Yama-jii shows up."

Tōshirō stopped and turned to face the pair. "I'm not _on _your side, Kurosaki. I think you'd make a good taichō."

Kurosaki scratched the back of his head and wrapped the other arm around Kuchiki's shoulders. "Eh? I never said anything about not wanting to be a taichō. Rukia, stop glaring at me like that, I'm not going to move my arm."

Tōshirō frowned. "You said before, to your father, that you didn't want to become a taichō. I heard you."

"Oh, that! Idiot, I said I wasn't going to become the Seventh Division's taichō. That doesn't mean I don't want to be a taichō at all. Nah, I'm after the Fifth Division. I figure, I killed Aizen so I should get his job."

"Interesting reasoning."

This time Tōshirō managed to suppress his shock at another person showing up unannounced. He could at least take comfort in the fact that it was the Captain-Commander and Kyōraku-taichō, who were both suppressing their reiatsu. Tōshirō blinked and realised that he'd subconsciously been doing the same thing since Rangiku had shown up at the Thirteenth Division's offices. He cast his thought a little wider, and the only reiatsu he could sense was even further out west, in the Rukongai.

_What is going on here?_

Kurosaki's face had fallen back into its familiar scowl and his arm had tightened itself around Kuchiki's shoulders automatically, almost defiantly. Yamamoto had never approved of their relationship – despite everything Kurosaki was a human. Well, not any more, but that was a fairly recent development.

"I don't see what's so interesting about it. Sir." Even Tōshirō had to suppress a wince at the coolness in Kurosaki's tone. "There are currently three Division's without a taichō – Third, Fifth and Seventh. Considering the only Division out of those three that I have a connection to is Fifth, it would be the most logical one for me to take over."

"Killing the previous taichō is not much of a connection, Kurosaki Ichigo. Nor is it a positive one."

"Aizen was a traitor, and that wasn't the connection I was talking about. I mean Momo. Me'n her get along pretty well, and she's asked me to help her in the training grounds more than once, so the rest of the Division knows my form."

"Fifth Division doesn't _need_ a taichō at this present time. Hinamori-fukutaichō has created a system that, with the help of a few seated officers and her own capabilities, enables the Division to run along the same general lines as the others. Kira-fukutaichō is on the verge of achieving bankai and is uncommonly brilliant at completing paperwork. Seventh Division, however, is struggling. They need proper guidance."

"Then what in the hell makes you think I'd be any good at the job? I barely spoke to Komomura, I hardly know Iba and I've never even met most of the Division."

"It is the same with most taichō, Kurosaki. Hitsugaya-taichō here met his subordinates on his first day on the job."

"How is Ran-chan by the way?" Kyōraku interrupted, lifting his hat to peer at Tōshirō. "She hasn't come drinking with me for a while."

Tōshirō shrugged. "She's out in west Rukongai sorting out the echo that Kurosaki created."

The Captain of the Eighth Division sighed and shook his head. "I know. That's not what I meant."

The Captain-Commander cracked an eye at Tōshirō. "What is your opinion, Hitsugaya-taichō?"

Tōshirō shrugged, feeling vaguely uncomfortable under that one-eyed gaze. "To be honest, sōtaichō, I think Kurosaki has a point. Rangiku-fukutaichō and I were lucky enough to find we got along, but it still took a few years to settle in, during which the Division suffered notably."

The eye closed again and Tōshirō was left with the feeling that he'd somehow disappointed the Captain-Commander. "What of Hinamori-fukutaichō's feelings?"

Kyōraku tipped his hat upwards and blinked. "Since when have you cared for feelings, old man?"

Yamamoto glared at the pink-clad Captain, but there was no heat in the look. The two ancient men had been playing off each other for centuries.

"I believe Momo would appreciate being relieved of her heavy duties, Yamamoto-sōtaichō," Tōshirō said quietly. All heads in the courtyard turned to him, and he studiously worked on avoiding Kurosaki's gaze. "She's not happy being in charge of the Fifth, and if there was a way she could have her duties lessened so that she's no longer in control, I know she would take it." He paused. "Also, she mentioned a few months ago that she would like to take a teaching position at the Academy one day. At the current time it is, of course, impossible, but it's much easier to find a replacement for a fukutaichō than a taichō."

The Captain-Commander's face was unreadable as always. "And what do you suggest we do about Seventh Division, Hitsugaya-taichō?"

Tōshirō shrugged again. "If there's one thing nearly two decades of knowing Kurosaki Ichigo has taught me, sōtaichō, it's that he's not easily deterred. I'd believe him when he says he'll only take the Fifth."

The Captain-Commander grunted. "That still leaves the Seventh collapsing in on itself."

"I told you what to do about that!" Kurosaki exploded. "You have three taichō-level—'

Reiatsu flared. Not from anyone in the courtyard, but suddenly the pressure of thousands of souls reappeared in the Seireitei where before there had been virtually nothing.

Kurosaki cut himself off abruptly. "The hell?" Apparently even he could sense the mass lifting of restraints.

"The amount of reiatsu in the Seireitei was agitating the echo you caused in district eighty." Kyōraku yawned. "Ran-chan sent most of the taichō and fukutaichō a Hell Butterfly to get them to quiet down, but you must have already been doing it subconsciously. Well, it's been fun, but I believe there's a jug of sake with my name on it back at Eighth and with my lovely Nanao helping the kidō classes at the Academy, I'm free to drink it." He tipped his hat at the Captain-Commander. "Call me when you work your way around your pride and find a way to agree to Kurosaki's plan." The pink-clad Captain began to meander his way off. "I'll help you convince the other taichō, don't worry. It's been far too long since I've been able to sit down and have a proper drink with Isshin." He saluted, somewhat mockingly, then flash-stepped away.

Tōshirō looked over at the impassive old man. "If there's no further need for me?"

Yamamoto waved his hand negligently. "Leave."

xXx

Rangiku was already back in the office by the time Tōshirō had fetched his paperwork from the Thirteenth and said his goodbyes to Jūshirō and Kiyone. His vice-captain squealed upon his arrival and leapt for him, arms open. He blinked, then stepped to the side. Possibly not the wisest move, as she decided then to maul him from behind.

"Ran-Rangiku, get off me!" he yelled, struggling to throw her off. She only clung tighter, like a limpet, rocking them both side to side,

"Taichō! I am going to get you the best birthday present ever!"

"Oh yeah? What would that be – off of me?" He finally succeeded in tossing her off him. She slid backwards, thumping lightly into her desk and pouting. "Tōshirō-taichō is so cruel to me," she moaned.

"Yes, Rangiku. That's why Tōshirō-taichō completed – once again – your paperwork backlog for the last week." Alright, so it had been more for the good of the Division than his second-in-command, but she didn't have to know that. The woman sung his praises for the next half hour until _that_ got almost as annoying as her constant whining.

"Rangiku, please. Shut up."

She rolled her eyes, setting a cup of his favourite green tea down in front of him before flopping down behind her own desk. "Tell me what happened with Ichigo, then," she demanded.

Tōshirō closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Fortifying himself with a sip of tea, he began to recount what had happened, pausing every now and then to let Rangiku comment. When he reached the part about the mass releasing of reiatsu, he stopped completely, taking another sip of tea.

"What happened with that, by the way?"

She flicked her hand dismissively as she swallowed her own mouthful of tea. "Mm. Oh, that. Yeah, Ichigo's reiatsu knocked the poor guy's brain around and he started remembering his other life. And then there was the echo effect, which really screwed him around. He's been doing some major suppressing for the last decade or so." She yawned, stretching. "He asked me to help him out until he's got his head sorted. I'm pretty sure he only wants to spend more time around my breasts, but what can you do? I told him I'd help out during my free time."

"Kuchiki-taichō isn't going to be happy about that," Tōshirō observed.

Rangiku snorted. "Byakuya doesn't have to be happy about it, taichō. It's my free time, not his. A couple of weeks apart won't hurt us."

"I wish you luck convincing him of that," he drawled, draining his cup.

She winked at him. "Oh, don't worry taichō. I'm _very_ good at convincing Byakuya to do things."

Tōshirō choked.

xXx

A door slammed, causing Tōshirō to wake up with a jerk. He glared down at the pile of paperwork he'd fallen asleep on before turning it towards Rangiku as she threw the fusuma open.

The glare dissipated as soon as he realised she had been crying.

"R-Rangiku?" he stuttered. "Are you—"

The blonde beauty scrubbed angrily at her face. "Taichō, is my room in the barracks still free?" she asked softly.

"Of course it is Rangiku, but—"

"No buts, taichō!" She took a moment to compose herself, looking at her feet, and when their eyes met again, hers were carefully blanked. "I'm moving out of the Kuchiki Mansion. Right now. I can't – I can't take it anymore."

"Can't take what, Rangiku?"

She shoved her hair back off her face and sighed. "Do I look like an object to you, taichō?" Her voice was very small. "Am I just a thing?"

Tōshirō clenched his fists. "Did he say that to you?"

A mocking smile crossed her lips. "What, are you going to call him out, taichō? Defend my dubious honour?"

He blushed, but held her gaze. "If you asked me to."

There was a slight hitch in his vice-captain's breath and her hand flew to her throat. Her smile softened and in two quick steps she had her arms around him. Not mauling him, but holding on for dear life. Awkwardly, he reached up and wrapped his own arms around her, patting her back slightly.

She collapsed, sobbing into his shoulder. Tōshirō caught her weight with ease, gently leading her over to the small couch in the office.

"That may be the most meaningful thing anyone's ever offered to do for me, taichō," she whispered when she was able to get the words out coherently.

He frowned. "What exactly happened? Was it about—"

She laughed, bitterly. "Oh, it doesn't matter what it was about, taichō. The fact of the matter is that I told him not to follow me and he didn't."

xXx

It took two weeks for Kuchiki to come after Rangiku. Tōshirō's vice-captain had been studiously alternating between sustaining anger at the noble and helping out the echo case in district eighty. She hadn't expressed her anger vocally, but an increasing amount of Hollows were being shredded to death.

Thankfully, there had been no taichō meetings, as the Captain-Commander had been closeted away all week, negotiating with Kurosaki who had still not changed his demands. Tōshirō wasn't sure he would have been able to maintain his usual icy façade if faced with the Captain of the Sixth Division.

Rangiku had also been working on something that involved listening to hours worth of audio when she really should have been working. Tōshirō didn't mind overly much, as she was for once at least making a half-hearted attempt to do some work as opposed to a no-hearted attempt. Also, she nearly bit his head off when he asked about it.

However when Kuchiki _did _finally come into the Tenth Division's office, it wasn't to see Rangiku. Well, ostensibly, although in hindsight it had really been a rather obvious trick. She didn't even notice he was there at first, listening as she was to her audio tapes with her eyes closed.

"What is it, Kuchiki-taichō?" Tōshirō was rather pleased at the way he managed to reach a happy medium between his need to punch Kuchiki and his need to appear polite by surreptitiously freezing the contents of his desk drawers and inserting a little more ice into his tone.

"My fukutaichō, Yamashita Rikichi, is unsuited to my Division."

Tōshirō raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Unfortunately, Kuchiki meet this with equal silence, leaving them staring, waiting for the other to break.

It was midway through this silence that Rangiku looked up.

Tōshirō didn't see her reaction, immersed as he was in the staring contest with Kuchiki, but between one breath and the next she was there, grabbing a handful of the noble's hair and yanking him back.

"Release me," Kuchiki said softly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, even tone betrayed by the white-knuckled grip she had on his hair.

"Release me. My business here is not with you."

She glared at him, and if it hadn't been so utterly ridiculous to even think such a thing, Tōshirō could have sworn the Captain of the Sixth Division winced slightly. "If it's Division business you're here on, I'll find out anyway."

"I had no intention of keeping this from you. I am merely stating that I'm not here for you, so if you would be so kind as to release me…"

"Rangiku," Tōshirō said softly. "Let him go."

She turned to face him so quickly he was surprised she didn't get whiplash. "Taichō?"

"Let me hear what he has to say."

Slowly, her hands unclenched, and she let them drop limply to her sides. "Fine."

Tōshirō turned back to Kuchiki. "So? Your fukutaichō."

"Yes. He is powerful, somewhat competent at paperwork and works well with people—"

"Are you trying to sell him to us, _Kuchiki-taichō?_" Rangiku asked softly, emphasizing the man's title.

Again, the almost flinch, but if it _had_ occurred Kuchiki ignored it. "Most of the Seireitei is aware of your...problems, with your fukutaichō. I am suggesting—"

"No."

Kuchiki blinked, once, slowly. "If you would—"

"No. I'm not parting with Rangiku. Ever." He sipped on the tea that Rangiku had brewed just before the Sixth Division Captain arrived. "_I_ am suggesting, Kuchiki-taichō, that you keep your personal issues out of the office. Take it from someone who nearly destroyed his own Division." Tōshirō looked down at his folded fingers. "I'm also suggesting that you follow my fukutaichō outside and talk."

Kuchiki's eyebrows twitched slightly, although whether in surprise or disdain, Tōshirō couldn't tell. "Follow?"

The Tenth Division Captain nodded over Kuchiki's shoulder, where Rangiku had a fistful of his haori. The noble's face was unreadable as he did, indeed, follow the strawberry blonde out of the office.

Tōshirō waited until the fusuma had slid completely shut before he made his way over to Rangiku's headphones. _It's not really prying or anything. After all, it is my office. And it's during working hours. So really, it's my duty as a Captain to ensure my vice-captain hasn't got into anything over her head._

Having successfully rationalised the intrusion to himself, he settled into Rangiku's chair and slipped the headphones over his ears. He was met with her voice.

"…_do you remember?"_

A pause. _"My family. I…I can't believe I forgot them. They mean the world to me – and my _mother!_ I finally have my mother back after all these years. But I keep on seeing this face…this face, and there's this odd compulsion with it. Like the whole reason I came here was to see him. And maybe to beat the crap out of him."_

"_Him?"_

The dialogue went on, but Tōshirō couldn't hear it. He stared dumbly at the haphazardly stacked paperwork on Rangiku's desk before slowing slipping the headphones off.

It had been eight years. Eight long years, and the voice was scratchy, harder, but there was no mistaking it.

The hard, cold tones of Rangiku stabbed through the fusuma. "And until you understand that I won't marry you just because I'm pregnant, _Kuchiki-taichō_, I don't believe I have anything to say to you.

The paper door slid open and Rangiku step silently into the office, head held high. Tōshirō turned haunted eyes to her as she saw him.

He watched her falter, take in the headphones in his hands and whatever look was on his face. "Taichō—"

"Karin," he rasped. "Kurosaki Karin. She's here. She's the echo."

xXx

_NOT THE LAST CHAPTER._

_Just to reiterate, in case you missed it, lol._

_Anyway, yeah Rangiku lied. That was to throw you off the scent, because I'm pretty sure that quite a few of you guessed. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and here is the part where I get on my knees and beg for reviews._

_And also, fanart. If anyone is willing to do some artage for this or any of my other fics, could you pleasepleaseplease? So long as you actually show me of course._


	6. Aftermath

_Oh, wow! Last chapter! And damn it's huge. There's a hint of FINALLY in it for me, but all in all I have really enjoyed writing this fic and I've loved reading your feedback too. Feel free to leave more!_

_Anyway, after this story ends I'm going to write some more of my Harry Potter stuff and then get to work on telling Rangiku and Byakuya's story. After that I will be doing several other pairings set up in this universe, and what I'd like you all to do is sort them out into what you'd like to see first and then give me the list._

_A sequel._

_Ichigo/Rukia (duh)_

_Kiyone/Ukitake (please tell me you saw that coming)_

_Momo/Shūhei (all shall be explained)_

_Yuzu/Hanatorō (so cute! So very, very cute)_

_And if you're interested, I may do an Isshin/Masaki._

_Argh! Am reading Bleach manga, and Yachiru is the cutest thing ever. I can't believe I killed her off! She makes me smile every time I see her!_

_Ahem. So, welcome to the last chapter of Lost and Found._

xXx

"Happy birthday?" Rangiku said weakly.

"Hap – happy _birthday_."

"Uh…yeah…"

"Matsumoto Rangiku. Karin is here. In the Rukongai. You _knew_. You _lied_ to me."

"No!" She paused. "Well, at least, not exactly."

He laughed, incredulous. "Not _exactly_?"

"Taichō, please. She's barely suited for company at the moment. She can't even see Yuzu for longer then three minutes before having a fit."

"_Fit?_"

"Memories, coming back. Taichō, you've seen an echo before, you know what it's like."

He suddenly slammed his fists down on his vice-captain's desk. "Yuzu-can knows? Damn it, Rangiku, did you tell the whole Seireitei? Who else knows?"

"Well I sorry if I thought her family deserved to know before you, taichō!"She shook her head, shoving her hair back. "Look, taichō. She – she doesn't remember you."

The words hit him like a knife to the gut and he was swamped with images of the last time he'd seen Karin.

"_Tō – Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya-_taichō_. To what do I owe this displeasure?"_

_He stepped forward and kissed her. Hard, desperately, passionately._

"So, uh, I told Momo as soon as I found out because I was so shocked and she let Yuzu know once the girl got over the being, well, dead and Ichigo knows and I had no free time to hunt down Isshin to tell him about Masaki so I enlisted Shunsui's help and I also needed to tell Isane because she's a healer, but she doesn't know all that much about mind-healing so she let Unohana-taichō know and—"

"Masaki?" Tōshirō interrupted, shaking himself out of one memory and falling into another, this of a large poster in a house above a clinic in Karakura Town. "Kurosaki Masaki? Isshin's—"

"Wife. Yes. She died years ago, saving Ichigo. We probably owe her our continuing existence if you think about it. She's an amazing woman, really." Rangiku had slowed down, apparently more settled by Tōshirō's calmer voice. "I'd say she's the only woman in district eighty without a sword who hasn't been raped. All the men respect—"

Tōshirō jerked. "Karin—"

"Has a sword. Zanpakutō, actually."

"Where is she?" he asked, voice raw.

"District eighty, with Masaki. She didn't know that Masaki was her mother until two weeks ago. Unohana-taichō thinks that the presence of her entire family here set her off. It was like…all the Kurosaki-reiatsu created one huge echo. Most echo's who start remembering their old lives, they don't get everything, but Karin's pretty much remembered it all. Except—"

"Except for me," he supplied bitterly. "I don't understand how this happened, Rangiku. There are no records of Karin receiving a soul burial, I checked again and again and again. So many times."

"I know. But that's the whole thing, taichō. Karin didn't have a soul burial performed on her." She cut him off before he even opened his mouth to protest. "You know it happens, sometimes. When there's nothing to hold a soul to the physical world."

"But Karin had everything holding her to physical world. Rangiku, she was _murdered. _By her fiancé, of all people. Just as she got accepted into police training, her _dream _job. She had her whole life ahead of her." He looked down at his clenched fists, and whispered to himself. "Just as I'd meant her to."

"Pardon?"

He jumped, clearing his throat. "She had all of those things holding her back, Rangiku. Why would she come straight here?"

His vice-captain's icy blue eyes met his own teal. "I can think of one thing."

Tōshirō looked back down at his hands. "Not me."

xXx

"_Gee, I wonder why you're here. After that last speech, I didn't expect to see you back again." She smirked, tying off the braid her fingers had been flickering over as she leaned against the doorway. She let it drop over her left shoulder, thick, long and dark. Not as long as it had been, Tōshirō noted, and it was ragged at the ends. She'd done herself another home job. "Have you grown, _Shiro-chan?_ I think your head almost reaches my chin now."_

_One of his eyebrows twitched as he stepped into her personal bubble. "You're staring into my eyes," he murmured. "I'd say that makes us of a height."_

_The smirk deepened as she carefully avoided touching him. "Does it now."_

_They stood like that until she realised they were standing in full view of the street and pulled him inside._

"_Where is he?" Tōshirō asked._

"_Out."_

"_Out where?"_

"_America, visiting family. He's been gone a month, back tomorrow. What were you planning to do that he can't know about?"_

"_Generally strange men who look like gangsters don't walk in off the street and offer to make a lady dinner."_

_She snorted. "Lady? Give me a break. I won an official contest yesterday. I burped the entire English alphabet backwards three times in a row. Speaking of the way you look, tell Urahara he's done a good job with the gigai. You're looking almost less than presentable for once."_

"_So he's in America." Tōshirō started to move towards the kitchen. "And you've been taking the opportunity to be as disg – unladylike as possible." He paused. "When was the last time you played a game of soccer?"_

_He turned to watch her face light up. "Three days ago, but that was one on four with the boys and I still won. I'd be up for a _real_ game of one on one any time."_

"_I thought that might put a smile on your face."_

"_I smile plenty!" she protested._

"_No, you smirk. It's…alluring, but not a smile."_

_That also made her smile, albeit unwillingly and it disappeared almost immediately as she fought down a blush. "Don't say that. I'm not alluring. I'm trying out for the police, for crying out loud."_

_He shrugged. "You've managed to snare the hearts of at least two men. Six, if you count your inept admirers."_

"_Hey! Don't say that about the boys. They've grown up a bit since you last saw them, and they don't try to 'accidentally' pull down my top anymore when we're goofing around." She fingered the end of her plait. "And I never snared your heart. If I did, you'd still hang around. I only snared your—"_

"_Soccer?" he interrupted hastily, starting to pull out dinner ingredients. "Well, after I've cooked you dinner."_

_There was a soft thump and she was leaning against the wall. She liked leaning against things, he'd noticed. "Don't try to fool me, Tōshirō. You didn't come here to play soccer or cook me dinner. You just want—"_

"_To see you, Karin. Is spaghetti good for you?"_

"_Oh, nice ambiguous answer there, with outright avoidance at the end. You always were brilliant at that."_

"_You didn't ask a question. Is spaghetti good for you?" he repeated._

"_The way things are going at the moment, Tōshirō, I don't think you'll be here long enough to eat dinner, but feel free to waste my food preparing it if it makes you feel better about the real reason you're here."_

_He stared into the cupboard, pretending to look for tomatoes. _

"_Tōshirō?" she persisted._

"_I said we shouldn't see each other anymore."_

"_You did."_

"_I was wrong to come here."_

"_If you're still intent on following through with that whole 'stay away from Karin' plan, yeah. Although I gotta say, you were doing pretty well there for an entire _two years_."_

"_I couldn't…"_

"_Couldn't what?"_

_He looked at the ground. "Live without you," he mumbled._

"_Yeah? Well, I've been living just fine without you, Tōshirō. You know you really did a fucking number on me." He blinked in surprise – Karin never swore anymore. "It's alright to train me, fight a war with me, kiss me,_ _screw around with me, _lie_ to me. But it's not okay to stay with me."_

"_I never lied—"_

"'_I'll stay as long as you need me'." She spat his own words of times past back at him. "'I love you.' _'Forever'. _I believed all of that, Tōshirō. Stupid of me, yeah? Damn it, and still, _still_ I want it to be true! But I'm somewhat happy now, alright? Does that throw a spanner in your works? Because I have a really neat guy who _means_ it when he says he loves me."_

"_Karin—"_

"_Yeah, I know all your fucking excuses. The shinigami-human crap that's got you so hung up, but that's bull because Ichigo and Rukia are doing just fine."_

"_Their situation is completely different. Your brother can knock his soul out of his body so it dies without having his Chain of Fate attached to anything, and then he can just get your father or Urahara to open a gate to the Seireitei for him. Then he's with Kuchiki forever or so close to it, it doesn't matter, with all of his memories intact."_

_She stared at him. "What?"_

"_I don't want to watch you die!" he yelled._

_More staring. "Is that – Is that what this is all about?"_

"_I'm going to have another growth-spurt, Karin, and then for the next however many centuries it stops for me. My age will increase so slowly that to you I may as well not be getting older at all. You don't deserve that. You deserve someone who can stay with you, grow old with you—" He swallowed. "Have _children_ with you. I'm not that person, Karin. That's why you have him." He shook his head. "It's okay. I'll leave now. I know you didn't want me to come in the first place."_

_She caught his arm. "Are you kidding me? I mean…he's great and everything. Seriously. A bit uptight, but so were you when we first meet. Hell it hasn't really changed all that much. But he's not you." She sighed, free hand still fiddling with the end of her braid. "I felt your reiatsu as soon as you stepped out of the gate. I waited around all day for you to get the balls to come here, and you I both know exactly how we're going to end up. So. Stay." She grinned. "Make me dinner, and we'll talk. Or not."_

_He pulled himself from his grasp. "No, Karin. It wasn't only wrong of me to come here, it was stupid. You deserve someone better."_

_She pushed herself off the wall and stood, glaring at him with her hands on her hips. "If you leave this house before we've had time to sort this crap out, Tōshirō, don't expect to be welcomed back."_

_He smiled bitterly. "You said that last time."_

_Luckily he heard the plate whistling through the air as it hurtled towards him. It crashed into the wall just where his head would have been if he hadn't stepped out of the way._

"_He's getting a ring as well, Tōshirō. A family heirloom. And if you walk out of this house, out of my life again, I'm going to have to say yes."_

_Tōshirō paused, for a split second._

_Then he opened the door._

"_Good."_

xXx

That hadn't been that last time he'd seen her though. Unable to stay away, he'd gone to see her again, and she hadn't lied. She had made him most unwelcome during the first five seconds or so. Then he'd kissed her, and he'd been even more unwelcome for the next ten minutes while she yelled at him. After she'd calmed down a bit, she threw him a bag of frozen peas to put on the quickly forming bruise around his eye – she had a mean right hook – and then told him to get out before her fiancé came home.

Somehow during the course of his three month absence from her life, she'd mastered the art of the double entendre. Her fiancé wasn't going to return for another two days, which left him plenty of time. All things considered, it really had been inevitable. They'd fallen into bed, and done the things that lovers usually did in beds, and that time he'd promised to return.

"…chō? Taichō!"

Tōshirō jerked out of his reminiscing. "You know, I did go back. I kept my promise. But I went back and he'd killed her in a jealous rage. See, he found out about me. Turns out he wasn't so great after all."

"T-Taichō? You mean…"

"I slept with Karin. We had sex. Fucked. Whatever. We had a confirmed relationship with each other when she turned eighteen, but we were already there. I already l-loved her. I haven't stopped. I couldn't stop, ever, although Hell knows I've tried. You know how he found out, Rangiku?"

"No. I…I didn't even know who killed her, taichō. You wouldn't tell anybody, and the Kurosaki's kept it close to their hearts. I thought it would be rude to ask."

"I asked Urahara for a gigai that would completely suppress my reiatsu – imitate a normal human body, so I could surprise Karin. The Seireitei isn't quite capable of that yet. He gave me one similar to Isshin's and…and…"

Rangiku's hand flew to her mouth. "No. Oh, taichō, no."

"Yes, Rangiku. When Karin died, she was pregnant with our child."

xXx

_Tōshirō was keeping his promise. He'd taken the first chance he had to get away from the Seireitei to come and visit her._

Crime Scene. Do Not Cross. Crime Scene. Do Not Cross. Crime Scene. Do Not Cross.

_He stared in confusion at the yellow tape blocking the doorway._

"_Excuse me, sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This _is_ a crime scene."_

_He blinked up at the human policeman. "Wh-what happened here?"_

"_Murder, sir. Nasty business. It's been all over the news, poor woman's never going to get any peace."_

"_I don't watch the news. Could you tell me what happened here?"_

"_I'm afraid not, sir. Not in any detail. You could take my words as a statement, see, and the family wants to keep this as quiet as possible."_

"_Could you at least tell me who died? I'm a friend of the woman who lives here."_

"_Oh." The policeman turned away and suddenly looked very busy. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, sir, but…the woman who lives here, Kurosaki Karin? It, um, it was her fiancé…he killed her."_

_Tōshirō was already gone. He shed the gigai somewhere along the way and flashed-stepped to the Kurosaki Clinic, mind screaming all the while._

_The Clinic was closed, so Tōshirō stepped straight through the walls._

"…_find her, Dad, Yuzu. If I can find out where she's hidden herself before some other shinigami performs the soul burial on her, I can take her up to the Seireitei through a gate. We all know—"_

"_What about the baby, Ichi-nii? What about her baby?"_

_Tōshirō stiffened. "She was pregnant?" he whispered. "With his child?"_

_The Kurosaki family turned their heads as one to face him. Yuzu's face was tear-ravaged and confused, Isshin's face unreadable, but he was emanating calm, and Kurosaki Ichigo looked bleak. Angry, but bleak._

"_Tōshirō? What are you doing—"_

"_How did it happen?" he demanded harshly, knowing he was intruding on their grief and not caring. "How did it happen?"_

xXx

"I need to see her."

"Eh? But Unohana-taichō said that you shouldn't go until she remembers you."

"_Unohana_ knows?"

"I did tell you, Isane didn't know what to do, so she told Unohana-taichō"

"Nevermind. I just – she doesn't have to know I'm there, alright? Please, Rangiku. I need to see her."

She looked at him for a long time. "Did you – did you ever get—"

"No." He cut her off before she could say it. "Never."

"Right. I…I'd best be careful then."

He frowned. "What?"

"You didn't hear me before? Talking to Byakuya?"

"Uh…no? Wait. You—" His eyes widened and he stared wildly at her. "You're _pregnant_. With Kuchiki Byakuya's child? And you…you told him you wouldn't marry him. Do you have a death wish, Rangiku?"

"No, taichō. And I don't have a problem with marrying him. Hell, I'd love to! But I want to marry him because we love each other, not for the sake of propriety. If he can't handle that, I'll bring our child up by myself." She shook her head. "But forget about me for now, taichō. I – are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive." He stood. "Where is she?"

xXx

"Oi, Tōshirō! The old man finally agreed!" Kurosaki was swaggering towards them, something white slung over his shoulder. "It's Ichigo-_taichō_ now, of the Fifth Division."

"Technically, Deathberry, it's Kurosaki-taichō," Rangiku teased. "Congratulations, though."

"Psht. I don't hold with all that formality crap. Kurosaki-san or -kun if you have to, but if you wanna call me taichō it's Ichigo. And thanks, Ran-chan. Where are you two off to? I was just going to tell Rukia the good news. Then I have to go Iba and make sure there's no hard feelings and _then _I'm off to see Momo."

Rangiku glanced sideways at Tōshirō before she answered. "We're headed to district eighty."

Kurosaki blinked, then blinked again. "Eh?"

"Don't worry, Kurosaki-taichō. I have no intention of interfering with Karin's recovery," Tōshirō said softly. "I just want to see her."

_What is it with everyone staring at me?_ Alright, so two wasn't much of an everyone, but they seem to be looking right through him, _into_ him. It was…disconcerting, to say the least.

Finally, the new Captain shrugged. "So? You don't have to explain yourself to me, Tōshirō. Just try not to hurt her."

"Try?"

"Some things can't be helped. But uh…take Hyōrinmaru with you." He rubbed his shoulder and winced. "She hits bloody hard."

xXx

There was a mix of anticipation and terror curling in Tōshirō's gut as he and his vice-captain made his way through the districts of Rukongai.

"You okay, taichō?"

"Fine, Rangiku."

"Right. Well, I'd say you should probably dampen down your reiatsu now. Yours is the most likely to set Karin off again right now."

Tōshirō nodded, turning his attention to bottling up his reiatsu as the feeling in his stomach grew and they travelled onward.

"Here. Stop."

He jerked at the sound of Rangiku's voice. Looking up, he frowned. "This…this isn't district eighty." The was a large, tidy house on the edge of a small wood with a neat little stream running along by and no sign of blood anywhere.

"Looks too clean, doesn't it? Masaki insists that everything is tidied up after it's used. She looks after a whole army of kids, feeds the ones that need feeding, gives candy to them all and makes sure no one is stepped on."

"How? I mean she's only one woman in the worst district in the Rukongai."

"She's also the only Healer until sixty-eighth district and not everyone from around here is a Zaraki Kenpachi. You know how Unohana-taichō gets when people are threatening her Division? Masaki's like that whenever someone comes near her children with the wrong look on their face."

"So she refuses to heal them?"

"Oh, no! No, she'd never do that. She just makes the whole process extraordinarily painful, and most of the men around here are too stupid to realise she can only do it while she's healing. There are also about twelve big, brawny men who are ridiculously protective of her. And then there's Karin-chan."

Tōshirō looked at her expectantly for elaboration.

"She manifested her zanpakutō first day she arrived in the Rukongai. Being in district eighty, she needed something to protect her. I sparred with her once – she's got her brother's natural style. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe it's just a Kurosaki thing. Anyway, taichō, there's plenty of places around here for you to hide, but I'd suggest that tree." She pointed.

He glared.

"No, I'm serious! It's too warm to stay inside, so we've been gathering in that little clearing over there. If you climb that tree, you'll have a perfect view. Just keep your reiatsu under control."

"Perfect view, you say?"

"Yep."

He eyed the tree. "Fine."

"Good. So you get up that tree and I'll go to the door."

Tōshirō scowled at her, then flash-stepped to what appeared to best the most comfortable branch.

A clamour of small voices rose up from the direction of the house.

"Ran-san! Ran-san, Ran-san, Ran-san!"

His vice-captain's laughter drifted towards him. "I'm sorry, lovelings, I don't have any candy for you today."

A chorus of disappointed groans filled the air. Rangiku laughed again.

"Next time, I promise! Next time. Now, can anyone tell me where Karin-chan is?"

There was a soft pitter-pattering of feet as the owners of the voices disappeared into the depths of the house. "Karin-chan! Karin-chan, Karin-chan, Karin-chan!"

"Get Masaki too!" Rangiku cried after them. "Tell them I'll be in the clearing, alright?"

"Yes, Ran-san!"

His vice-captain wandered into sight, lazily twisting her hair over her shoulder. She flopped down on a chair carved into a tree stump and sighed happily, placing one hand over her stomach. It was then Tōshirō wondered about exactly how far along her pregnancy was.

"Ah, Rangiku-san!" a kindly voice called. "We weren't expecting you for another two hours at least."

"Oh, hello Masaki. I told my taichō about the baby, and he let me have the afternoon off." She sighed. "He's too kind, sometimes. Where's Karin-chan?"

"I asked her to bring some juice out with her. It's too warm a day to be drinking tea." Kurosaki Masaki came into view, and for the first time Tōshirō saw the woman who had created so many changes in both the Rukongai and Seireitei. She was beautiful, he noted, with long wavy hair of a colour somewhere between Yuzu's and Rangiku's and her sparkling eyes a deep brown colour, like her son's. She sighed happily, settling down on another carved chair opposite the other woman. "Is there any news of Isshin?"

"None. Shiba Kukaku's always been notoriously hard to find, and Shunsui doesn't have much time, being a taichō. But he'll come out of hiding eventually."

"He'd better," Masaki laughed. "Oh, Karin, there you are. What kept you?"

"I….remembered something."

Tōshirō would never have admitted it, but upon hearing that voice, he nearly fell out of the tree.

"You did?" Rangiku cried, jumping from her seat, assets bouncing.

"Mmm. A name, to go with that face I keep on seeing."

He saw her.

Kurosaki Karin had been dead for over eight years, and in that time she hadn't changed a bit. Her thick, black hair was in a tight braid hanging over her left shoulder, ends still ragged. Her dark eyes were as beautiful as ever, and a familiar scowl had crossed her perfect, pale features as she walked towards the other two woman in a pair of shorts and a singlet. In fact, the only thing that had change was the zanpakutō she was carrying slung over her shoulder with the ease of a hardened soldier.

"That's excellent, Karin-chan. What was the name?"

The frown deepened as she scratched the back of her neck. Tōshirō drank in every gesture, the slightest twitch.

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō. It's cold, like Yuki. Mean anything to you?"

For the first time in his life, Tōshirō lost total control of his reiatsu and fell out of the tree.

He didn't even have time to blink as Karin whipped around to face him, pulling the zanpakutō from its sheath in one fluid motion as she did so.

"Dazzle, Amaterasu!" she cried, and the sword burst into a blinding light.

Tōshirō shut his eyes to protect them and threw up Hyōrinmaru to protect everything else. His sword met Karin's with a shriek of steel.

"Blaze, Amaterasu!"

A jolt of heat surrounded them, but Hyōrinmaru being Hyōrimaru, it had no effect on the zanpakutō. The only damage it did to Tōshirō was shocking him into opening his eyes. He winced, expecting the dazzling light of Karin's zanpakutō to blind him.

Nothing happened. Although the sword was obviously pulsing with light bright enough destroy optic nerves, it was having no effect on him, or on Rangiku watching the fight with a smile on her face or Masaki, who while also watching the fight, looked worried.

He watched Karin's own eyes widen hugely. "You," she whispered, stumbling backwards and dropping Amaterasu. The moment it left her hand the zanpakutō stopped glowing and returned to its unreleased state. Karin clutched at her head, bending double. "_You!_"

She screamed.

Tōshirō didn't stop to think. Between one breath and the next he was at her side, wrapping his arms around her tightly as she thrashed, waves of memories crashing down on her. She screamed again and a third time, and he felt his cheeks become wet to hear her in such pain as she begged it to stop and to not stop. He pulled her tighter and she threw her arms around him, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping her sane, burying her face into his chest.

Finally, it stopped.

She relaxed the death grip on his torso and let her arms slide to his waist. He felt her gasping for air as she sobbed into his chest.

"Toshirō," she whispered. "Tōshirō."

Too overwhelmed to speak, he simply hugged her. That is, until she shoved him away and scooped up Amaterasu.

"You _bastard_," she growled. "You complete and utter _bastard_." She started advancing on him. Nervously, he reached for Hyōrinamaru. "I left everything behind for you, and you didn't even have the decency to _find_ me!" He peddled backwards, on the defence as she delivered a series of quick strokes which he hurriedly blocked. "I can't _believe_ you!" Then, just as fast as she had drawn the zanpakutō, she re-sheathed it and delivered a sharp roundhouse to his gut. Not expecting it, he went down, narrowly missing impaling himself on Hyōrinmaru.

"You know, Karin-chan, I think the name Hitsugaya Tōshirō _does_ mean something to me after all," Rangiku drawled happily. Karin flipped her the bird even as she reached out her other hand to help Tōshirō up. He could have gotten up himself, but she obviously wanted to think he needed her help.

How wrong he was. She swept her leg under his as he was halfway to a standing position and he went crashing down again.

"Was that really necessary?" he yelled, leaping to his feet and re-sheathing his own zanpakutō.

"Yes, it really was! Why didn't you look for me?"

"I _did_ look for you! I spent four years looking for you! I nearly destroyed my Division looking for you! Forgive me for looking in the wrong place!"

"Why in the Hell wouldn't you look in the Rukongai?" she demanded. The were standing toe-to-toe, screaming at each other.

"Why in the Hell would you have _been_ in the Rukongai?" he shot back. "Your family, your job, your _life_ were in the living world. You were killed by your fiancé, while you were _pregnant!_ You had everything keeping your Chain of fate wrapped around something physical, but here you are, in the Rukongai, sans soul burial!"

Karin stepped back and punched him in the face. "You have never, _never_ had enough confidence in yourself, Tōshirō," she said calmly as he gingerly pinched his nose. "There were only three things that could have kept me in the living world, and two of those things weren't there."

"Whad dwo dings?" he slurred, trying to stem the bleeding. Masaki stood and edged her way around her daughter to place a hand on the back of his neck. There was a soft warmth and he winced as cartilage shifted, then his nose was once again straight and not bleeding. "I mean, what two things?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You, idiot. You, and our son."

It was too much. It really was too much. Souls weren't designed to take so many shocks in the space of a few hours. "S-son," he stuttered. "Our son."

"I'd been pregnant long enough to know the sex of the child, Tōshirō. That meant he had – has – a soul, which meant that if I wanted him to have a life, I had to come here so I could give birth. It's all very confusing, one in a million or billion chances of it happening, but I'm a Kurosaki. So. We have a son."

He caught a glimpse of Rangiku's face and saw she was almost as shocked as he was. Well, no one could be as shocked as he was, but his vice-captain was giving it a good shot.

"We have a son," he echoed weakly.

"Yuki!" Rangiku cried. "Karin-chan, your son – he's Yuki, isn't he?" She actually smacked herself in the forehead. "I'm blind," she muttered. "Blind as a bloody bat, with half the good sense."

"Yes, Tōshirō, we have a son. Yes, Ran-san, he is Yuki. He's been walking for over a year now, and kicking a ball around for longer." Karin pulled at the end of her plait. "Damn this slow aging thing though. He's almost eight and he looks about two." She sighed. "And it gets even slower, looking at you. Now before I let you meet him, I'd like a kiss please. And not one of those ridiculous forehead pecks either. A proper kiss."

Tōshirō shook his head, once, twice to clear it, then gave up. He'd take it all in later.

_Right now, I have the love of my life in front of me. For the rest of our lives._

So he did what any other sane person would do, and kissed her.

When they finally seperated, Rangiku and Masaki were clapping, and both he and Karin were grinning widely.

"Tōshirō?" she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Whatever happened to the bastard that killed me?"

Tōshirō kissed her again. "Oh, you don't have to worry about _him_ any longer."

xXx

_Yes, this is the end. There will be no more chapters of Lost And Found. Because everyone is found. I do, however, have a sequel planned, although when I write it depends on when you want it. I really have to get this Rangiku/Byakuya story out of my head first, and then it's up to you to decide. I'll give you the choices again._

_A sequel._

_Ichigo/Rukia (duh)_

_Kiyone/Ukitake (please tell me you saw that coming)_

_Momo/Shūhei (all shall be explained)_

_Yuzu/Hanatorō (so cute! So very, very cute)_

_And if you're interested, I may do an Isshin/Masaki._

_I'm betting you'll want a sequel ASAP, but I also would like to know when you'd like the others, so like I said, if you'd rearrange this list into your favoured order and then tell me, either through review or PM, I'd be really grateful._

_**Anyway, thanks to all of you who stuck with me and read all the way through, thanks to those who are reading this long after I've posted it, and thanks especially to everyone who's reviewed. I really appreciate it, and hopefully I'll see you again in some other story!**_

_**.:F:.**_


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